Ex-Chelsea doctor Eva Carneiro provides clear reply on Stamford Bridge return after plea from fans due to injury troubles this season
Former Chelsea medical staff member Eva Carneiro has firmly denied requests from fans to return to the club amidst their injury troubles this season. When asked about a possible reunion with the Blues, the 50-year-old replied with 'sorry' followed by two heart emojis.
Carneiro made the news back in 2015 after she was accused by then manager Jose Mourinho of not understanding the game. In a Premier League clash against Swansea, she ran onto the field to treat an injured Eden Hazard. Mourinho claimed that she had interrupted the side's push for a winner in a game that ended 2-2.
Carneiro was subsequently banished from training sessions following the incident. She eventually left her role six weeks later and took the club to court claiming constructive dismissal, with the case being settled after just two days.
Currently, she works as a sports consultant with the Sports Medical Group in Harley Street in London. She has, however, maintained her relationship with football, investing in non-league side Lewes FC alongside tennis legend Andy Murray.
Calls to bring the Gibraltarian back have strengthened after increased unhappiness over Chelsea's current medical staff. The team have been ravaged by injuries over the past few seasons. The agony increased further after three new players - Trevoh Chalobah, Carney Chukwuemeka and Robert Sanchez - were added to the injury list ahead of their Premier League clash against Burnley (March 30).
Further, summer signing Romeo Lavia has been ruled out of the season after just 40 minutes under his belt, while attacker Christopher Nkunku has also struggled to stay fit.
Mauricio Pochettino expresses surprise over Chelsea star's game time with national side
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has opened up on Ben Chilwell's availability for the side's upcoming clash against Burnley. Addressing the press, he said he was surprised to see the left-back play in both games for England during the international break.
Pochettino said (via the club's website):
"Still we need to assess a few players like Chilwell who came back from the national team after playing two games, after he didn’t play with us. He got a knock in his knee."
“Today he was all right to train and now we will see what happens tomorrow, if he can be available to be in the squad or not. We need to assess him.”
“I don’t know if I was surprised he played both games. He could not play for us, because he didn’t play after Brentford, he only played a few minutes in the game against Leicester in the FA Cup.”
Chilwell hasn't started for Chelsea since the Brentford game on March 2 and only came on late in the side's 4-2 win over Leicester City in the FA Cup (March 17). However, he played a total of 157 minutes across England's two clashes against Belgium and Brazil.
The left-back has already missed a chunk of the season, with a hamstring injury ruling him out from September to December. He has made 19 appearances for Chelsea across all competitions, providing one assist.